Mary Louise Grassmuck Phillips (née Gillespie), 95, passed away on August 11, 2017 at East Ridge Village Retirement Community in Cutler Bay in the presence of her family. She was born on August 6, 1922 in Dayton, Ohio, the daughter of George H. Gillespie and Grace Sullivan Gillespie Grassmuck. She is survived by her loving husband of 73 years, W. Keith Phillips, Jr. of East Ridge Village Community; son, W. Keith Phillips III and his wife Angela Menezes Phillips of Miami and daughter Patricia Phillips Alden and her husband Michael Alden of Flat Rock, NC. She is also survived by grandchildren, Andrea Phillips Tinder and her husband David, of Davie, FL and Erica Phillips of Miami; and great grandchildren Colin and Riley Tinder of Davie.
Mary Lou was raised in Dayton and Cincinnati, Ohio, moved to Ft. Lauderdale and graduated from Ft. Lauderdale High School in 1940. She attended college at Miami of Ohio for two years and transferred to the University of Miami where she was a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. There she met the love of her life and graduated in 1944 with a BBA concentrating in Economics.
Following her marriage to Keith Phillips on June 2, 1944, she was a homemaker in Coral Gables where she raised their two children and assisted Keith in his career as an insurance executive and as he carried out his duties as Mayor and Commissioner in the Gables, as well as his many other philanthropic endeavors. She herself was an active member of the Coral Gables Garden Club, the Coco Plum Women’s Club, the Gilded Lilies, the Guild of the Museum of Science and many other volunteer organizations.
She and Keith relocated to St. Petersburg, FL, in 1983, where she became a member of the St. Petersburg Women’s Club, the Stuart Society of the Museum of Fine Arts and the St. Petersburg Yacht Club. During this time, they traveled extensively throughout the US and Western Europe.
In 2008, they returned to Miami to reside at East Ridge Retirement Village where they have enjoyed reconnecting with local family and old friends who will greatly miss her loving smile.